Speech-Language Pathology Faculty
Core Faculty
Regina Lemmon Bush, M.S.P., Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Dean and Program Director of the Speech Language Pathology Program
Regina Lemmon Bush, M.S.P., Ph.D., CCC-SLP is the Dean/ Program Director of the Speech Language Pathology Program. Clinically, she has worked as an SLP in a variety of clinical settings including schools, skilled nursing facilities, private practice, travel therapy and hospital settings. Since 2002, Dr. Bush has worked as an adjunct professor, Clinical Supervisor, Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, External Placement Director and Program Director in two CAA Accredited Speech-Language Pathology Programs and one undergraduate Speech Language Pathology Program. She has also served as an adjunct instructor in an Occupational Therapy Master’s Program to provide students with an interprofessional education. These experiences led to her teaching innovations which infuse clinical education into academic course instruction. Dr. Bush revamped the program curriculum during her tenure at Columbia College to include experiential learning, scenario-based learning, mock therapy sessions, student-mentored research, service-learning projects with a variety of newly established community partners and a summer camp for toddlers with language as well as hearing impairments. She has mentored new faculty members to provide these instructional techniques within their courses.Dr. Bush is a proponent of student-mentored research to introduce students to research. Her student-mentored research interests are health literacy, non-mainstream dialects, language/ literacy and SOTL. Her students (graduate and undergraduate) have presented numerous student-mentored research at state and national conferences (ASHA and NBASLH) for over a decade. Dr. Bush honed her leadership skills in Council on Academic Programs in Communication Sciences & Disorders (CAPCSD) Leadership Academy Cohort II and community service work in various organizations. She has served as the President of the South Carolina Speech-Language Hearing Association (SCSHA), ASHA Advisory Council member and Vice Chairperson of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association’s Advisory Council. Dr. Bush received the University of South Carolina’s Communication Sciences & Disorders Department’s Inaugural Distinguished Alumni Award, Columbia College’s Career Achievement Award as well as South Carolina Independent College & University’s Professor of the Year Award for innovative program development and instruction. She is a contributing author for the textbook Leadership in Speech Language Pathology. Dr. Bush enjoys painting, traveling and spending time with her family.
Diana Julbe-Delgado, Ph.D., M.S., CCC-SLP
Associate Professor of the Speech-Language Pathology Program
Dr. Diana Julbe-Delgado joined the faculty at West Coast University (WCU) as an Associate Professor for the Speech-Language Pathology Program in August 2022. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of South Florida where she also completed her undergraduate and graduate studies. She is a certified member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and has practiced as a Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist in Florida for over 12 years. She has additionally served as a Research Coordinator for NIH funded studies and a Speech-Language Pathology Clinic Director. She has diverse academic and clinical experience that includes working with pre-school through geriatric age populations in a variety of clinical and academic settings. Her academic teaching includes courses and labs in the areas of Dysphagia, Motor Speech, Voice, Cognition, Aphasia, and Clinical Methods. Her areas of practice include Cognition (e.g., Mild Cognitive Impairment, Dementia, etc.), Traumatic Brain Injury, Language Learning related to Learning Disabilities, Motor Speech, Voice, and Dysphagia (swallowing disorders). Her areas of clinical specialty include working with adults with neurogenic communication and swallowing disorders. Her areas of research specialty include interdisciplinary research with a focus on identifying early indicators of cognitive change.
Dr. Julbe-Delgado has a passion for teaching, mentoring, research, and advocating for underrepresented populations. Her goal as an educator and mentor is to provide a nurturing, transformational, and interactive learning environment that promotes acquisition and meaning of knowledge and results in generalization and application of theoretical and clinical principles/skills. Her teaching philosophy holds paramount the importance of teaching students’ evidence-based theoretical and applied learning, clinical problem-solving skills, open communication, and whole person-patient-first intervention.
Dr. Julbe-Delgado has been recognized with awards in Faculty Research, Graduate Council Research Assistant, and Excellence in Advising. She has additionally served as a faculty mentor and firmly believes in supporting colleagues to facilitate synergy and strength as a team. Dr. Julbe-Delgado enjoys spending time with family and friends, cooking, and traveling.
Tracy Carr-Marcel, Ph.D., M.S., CCC-SLP
Dr. Tracy Carr-Marcel’s speech-language pathology experience began when she obtained her certificate of clinical competence in 2000. Her interest in communication sciences and disorders was influenced by having to learn sign language at an early age to effectively communicate with her maternal grandmother who was deaf.
Dr. Carr-Marcel’s career has covered the spectrum of clinical settings to include short-term rehab, long-term care, acute hospital care, and outpatient clinics. She pursued a career in higher education in 2021 due to a desire to share her diverse professional experience and prepare college students to enter the field of speech-language pathology.
While she is a native of Washington DC, Dr. Carr-Marcel has resided in different parts of North Carolina since her career began. She has two adult children: a daughter in college and a son in the National Guard. Dr. Carr-Marcel is a true animal lover with three dogs, two cats, and two birds. In addition, she loves to spend time with family.
Mary Pyfrom, MA, CCC-SLP, MT-BC
Assistant Professor of the Speech-Language Pathology Program
Mrs. Pyfrom has practiced clinically in private practice, skilled nursing facilities, inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, home health, and an outpatient university clinic. She has served as the Director of Speech Language Pathology in the hospital setting and lead clinical instructor in higher education. Mrs. Pyfrom has extensive experience clinically in the areas of Voice, Dysphagia, Motor Speech, Cognition, Aphasia, and Concussion Management. She holds specialty certificates in Lee Silverman Voice Treatment – LOUD and Speak OUT! for clients with Parkinson’s Disease, Myofascial Release, Leesac-Madsen Resonant Voice Therapy, and Comprehensive Assessment in Foreign Accented English. In higher education, Mrs. Pyfrom has focused on direct clinical care and the development of interactive educational seminars for students including hands on clinical application and decision making through simulated cases. She has developed programs for assessing student performance, was a co-creator of a new instructor mentoring program, and fostered interprofessional education opportunities for both faculty and students.
Mrs. Pyfrom is an active member of the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA) in three special interest groups and the Leadership Development Program. She is committed to lifelong learning and has earned three ASHA awards for continuing education.
Nicole Oglevee, M.A., CCC-SLP
Professor
Professor Oglevee is married with two children and a proud veteran of the U.S. Navy. While stationed in Italy, she developed a passion for exploring new cultures. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, visiting with friends and family, and attending her children’s musical and sporting events.
Sharita Williams-Crossen, Ed.D, CCC-SLP
Director of Clinical Education of the Speech Language Pathology Program
Dr. Williams-Crossen specializes in early intervention and is a certified Infant Toddler Family Specialist (ITFS). She has been certified for over 15 years. This certification demonstrates her specialized knowledge, skills, attitude, and attributes suited to providing quality services to the many differing young children, families, caregivers, professionals, and communities she serves. Governor Roy Cooper appointed her to serve on the NC Interagency Coordinating Council responsible for public awareness, community needs assessment, system evaluation, and professional development related to early intervention.
Before joining WCU, she was the managing director of a private practice managing day-to-day operations of the business, including providing high-quality speech therapy services to individuals across the lifespan with various communication needs related to developmental delays, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, and autism, to name a few. Dr. Williams-Crossen has a diverse background in speech-language pathology, including early intervention, Head Start, public schools, charter schools, nursing homes, and home health. Also, in this capacity, she provided clinical education to undergraduate and graduate practicum students, assisting in developing clinical and professional skills to conduct high-quality speech sessions
She has over 15 years of post-secondary experience in teaching and research. Teaching experiences include courses in communication sciences and disorders, phonetics, speech and language development, language disorders, observation in communication sciences and disorders, and computer applications in speech-language pathology. Her most recent research interests include increasing language and literacy through culturally responsive practices.
Dr. Williams-Crossen enjoys maximizing the communication of individuals of all ages by working collaboratively with families and other community professionals. Her passion is preparing future clinicians to make a difference in the lives of individuals with communication needs. Outside of work, Dr. Williams-Crossen enjoys reading, dancing, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.
Staff
Kayla Alvarez, M.A.
MSLP Assistant Director of Clinical Education
She has over five years of experience in higher education at the University of Texas South West and Dallas College Campus. Mrs. Alvarez has expertise in securing affiliation agreements and study abroad experience for STEM students both state-side and abroad. She is also passionate about diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. Mrs. Alvarez is an advocate for students and enjoys helping them to meet their life goals through securing affiliation agreements and preparing for successful clinical experiences in a variety of settings across the life span. Mrs. Alvarez loves going on adventures and road trips with her husband and two sons. The four of them travel often as a reset to life. Kayla’s family also consists of fur babies and many different plant species!
Yolanda Lister
Program Assistant
Deana Lacy McQuitty, Ed.D., CCC-SLP
Online Faculty Manager of the Speech-Language Pathology Program
In the role of Online Faculty Manager, Dr. Deana Lacy McQuitty helps to facilitate the success of the faculty members and the students they instruct in an online environment. She leverages her years of leadership experience, operational acumen and management skills to guide the team of educators to provide high quality student-centered learning experiences. Dr. McQuitty incorporates her cultural competence and assessment skills during faculty coaching sessions to help foster an educational environment that promotes continuous improvement. She is a graduate of North Carolina Agricultural & Technical University, Southern Connecticut State University and NOVA Southeastern University. Dr. McQuitty has over twenty years of experience as an ASHA certified speech-language pathologist. In her spare time, she enjoys playing the piano, traveling, gardening and spending quality time with her family.